Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, a tragedy in five acts, tells the story of the title character's agreement to sell his soul to the devil in exchange for twenty-four years of absolute power.
In drama, a chorus is one or more actors who comment on and interpret the action unfolding on stage. In Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, the chorus appears four times. First, it introduces the play's theme. Later, it provides the where and when in the narrative action. Finally, it relates the moral and helps the audience understand the significance of the closing scene.
In an allegory, characters represent abstract ideas and are used to teach moral, ethical, or religious lessons. Marlowe's play contains a Morality Play, in which Mephistopheles orders a parade of the seven deadly sins to entertain Faustus. Sins like.....
This is a free excerpt of 135 words. This section contains 656 words. This
study guide contains 21,992 words (approx. 73 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Literature Guide with our Doctor Faustus Access Pass.